Dry brining is an easy yet effective technique to make salmon incredibly moist tender and packed with flavor. But exactly how long should you dry brine salmon to get the best results? While salmon can be dry brined for 12 to 24 hours the ideal time frame is around 18 to 24 hours. Dry brining for the right duration ensures the salt and sugar have enough time to thoroughly season the fish without making it overly salty or firm.
What is Dry Brining Salmon?
Covering the salmon fillet in a mix of salt and sugar and leaving it out in the fridge for several hours is called dry brining, which is sometimes called dry salting. Wet brining involves soaking the fish in a saltwater solution. Dry brining, on the other hand, dries out the salmon while seasoning it at the same time.
The salt penetrates deep into the flesh, enhancing the flavor and preserving the fish. The small amount of sugar balances out the saltiness. Dry brining makes the salmon seasoned from the inside out so you don’t need much additional seasoning before cooking. It also firms up the texture so you get a beautifully caramelized crust when searing or grilling the fish.
How Long Should You Dry Brine Salmon?
For best results, salmon should be dry brined for at least 12 hours but no longer than 24 hours Here is an overview of how the brining time impacts the salmon
- 12 to 18 hours – This brining time adds good flavor and moisture. The salmon won’t be overly salty.
- 18 to 24 hours – This is the ideal time frame. The salmon is thoroughly seasoned throughout while still retaining a tender, silky texture.
- 24 to 36 hours – The salmon will become very firm and start to get quite salty due to the extended brining time.
- Over 36 hours – The salmon will be much too salty and the texture will be overly firm.
In most cases, dry brining salmon for 18 to 24 hours yields the best outcome – the seasonings have fully penetrated while the texture remains supple and moist
Tips for Dry Brining Success
Follow these tips to get flawless results when dry brining salmon:
- Use fresh, sushi-grade salmon. Dry brining helps inferior quality salmon but the best and freshest fish will yield the ideal texture.
- Make sure the fillets are of uniform thickness so they brine at the same rate.
- Use a ratio of 1:1 sugar to salt. Kosher or sea salt works best.
- Sprinkle the dry brine evenly over all surfaces of the salmon.
- Let the fillets sit uncovered in the fridge during brining.
- Rinse the salmon well after brining and pat dry.
- Let the fish air dry for 30 minutes before cooking to form a pellicle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you over brine salmon?
Yes, it is possible to over brine salmon if left for longer than 24 hours. The salmon will become much too salty and the texture will be unpleasantly firm. Stick within the 18 to 24 hour timeframe for failproof results.
Should you rinse salmon after dry brining?
Always rinse the salmon thoroughly under cool water after dry brining. This removes excess saltiness and ensures the salmon won’t be overly salty when cooked and served. Pat it dry well before cooking.
Can you eat salmon right after dry brining?
It’s best not to eat salmon directly after dry brining. Make sure to rinse off the salt/sugar mixture first. Also, make sure the salmon is fully cooked to at least 145°F inside before eating it to keep it safe.
How do you know if salmon is bad after brining?
Discard any salmon that smells sour or feels overly slimy after brining. Properly brined salmon should smell fresh and feel firm to the touch. As long as the fish has been continuously refrigerated, it should be fine within the recommended 12 to 24 hour brining timeframe.
What happens if you don’t rinse brined salmon?
Skipping the rinse after dry brining will likely result in salmon that tastes much too salty. You always want to rinse away any residual salt and sugar mixture to prevent over-seasoning.
Can you freeze salmon after brining?
It’s best not to freeze salmon after dry brining. The texture will degrade in the freezer. For optimal quality, dry brine salmon and cook it within 1-2 days without freezing.
Is wet or dry brining better for salmon?
This comes down to personal preference, but many cooks prefer dry brining over wet brining salmon. Dry brining results in salmon that has a nicer exterior crust and firmer, less mushy texture. The flavor is also more concentrated.
Get Perfectly Brined Salmon Every Time
While dry brining is super easy, following the ideal timing is key to salmon that is seasoned through yet still tender and moist. For foolproof salmon fillets, aim for a dry brining time of around 18 to 24 hours. Rinse the fish well, pat it dry and then sear, grill or roast until cooked through. Enjoy your incredibly flavorful salmon!
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It’s good to see Kenji explain the difference between the Kosher Salt and Table Salt brands once more. A lot of people should know about this because it changes recipes so much and causes a lot of trouble for people who follow recipes and think salt is salt. For table salt, the cubes are small, Mortons Kosher is big and flat, and Diamond Crystal Kosher is big and fluffy. For a given volume (ie a tablespoon), the shape affects how much fits. More = up to 2x saltier.
That’s not clear. Do you salt the filets’ skin side first, or do you salt the flesh side first and then turn them skin side up?
I saw this procedure on Kenjis Instagram and tried it with frozen wild Sockeye fillets. The night before, I let the fillets thaw in the fridge. The next morning, I patted them dry, salted both sides (that is, all over), and put them on a plate lined with paper towels in the fridge until dinner. The result was perfectly crisp skin, no spatter, and deliciously moist salmon. I will not make pan-seared salmon any other way now. Thank you, Kenji!.
When cooking salmon from a grocery store, even pre-portioned frozen packages, I recommend splashing it with sake and letting it rest for five to ten minutes before patting it dry. Then add the salt. As Nami Chen of “Just One Cookbook” fame notes, this will remove any hint of fishy odors. The salted fillets will be cured in the fridge for up to a week after I make it. I’ll wrap them in paper towels and put them in a Ziploc bag with the air squeezed out. b&.
The expensive Fleur de Sel and Maldon salts are used to finish a dish. Their crystals give the food a different texture. It would be a waste of nice salt and money to use this method where the salt would get completely mixed into the salmon.
I’d like to know why sea salt, in all its many beautiful forms and variations (from fleur de sel to Maldon flakes), is rarely, if ever, used in NYT Cooking recipes. What’s with this Kosher salt monopoly? Is it something that people in New York just do? Especially with seafood. and in this case, here with salmon. why would I prefer kosher to proper sea salt?.
He says to salt all over – in other words, both sides.
We have been doing this for years. Salt the skin only. You want to use enough salt such that you cant see the skin peering through from below. Wait 30 minutes. Rinse salt off with cold water then pat the fillet completely dry with paper towels. Pan fry skin side down. Overnight salting is not necessary – who has time?. Table salt is just fine – its going to be washed away. When we use this method on a hot stainless steel pan with good oil, the skin doesn’t stick.
It seems that using the stated amount of salt would yield a very salty entrée. What am I missing?.
Prepared a giant Costco filet of salmon as Kenji directed. The results were amazing: much more appealing texture, better flavor and far less mess to clean up. I didn’t separate it into servings until after I cooked it: much easier all around.
Should you rinse the remaining salt off before cooking or just start frying away?
Are you salting only the skin side, or both sides of the salmon?
Could someone explain why pan-frying is better than roasting with the skin side up? This is how I like to cook and it always turns out great.
Let the fillets sit in the fridge uncovered for at least 30 minutes, or as long as you can, to avoid brining them overnight. Press and pat them dry as much as possible, then sprinkle them with kosher salt and black pepper. Clean them off again with a soft cloth and place them skin-side down in a very hot cast iron skillet with a screen cover for one or two minutes. Then flip for 10 secs for color. Prolly not as good as the recipe, but similar results.
I live in Alaska and we never scale salmon. Might be different for farmed.
I was not at all impressed with this process. The change in fresh salmon was disagreeable. I cannot recommend the process.
I thought this made a piece of fish that was mostly salty, like cooking smoked salmon that you can buy in the UK, and I didn’t like it. I will not have much respect for his advice going forward.
Arrrgh. Way tooooo salty. All the subtle salmon flavour is obliterated
Has anyone tried this with any other type of fish besides salmon?
Wow, followed directions, even wiped some salt off, and it was still waaaaay too salty. I only salted the fleshy side. Or did I only need to salt the skin side? I’m going to rinse the rest of the fillet and use it in salad.
It never occurred to me to use the same dry brine method to make tasty, tender, nonstick salmon for dinner. I’ve made gravlax and hot smoked salmon this way before. It’s an easy method for foolproof salmon.
Excellent recipe! I used in on pan-fried steelhead trout. I have a hard time cooking fish because I’m not very good in the kitchen, but this turned out great, and I loved that it didn’t spill.
I’ve been dry brining salmon for years with a 5:1 ratio of salt to sugar by weight and a little black pepper for just 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing, drying, re-seasoning, and pan searing on high heat with the skin side down for a few minutes while pressing on the fish to make the most contact with the pan and keep it from warping as the flesh tightens. Then I flip it over and cook it for another minute. Broil some veggies and prep some farro or rice while all this is going on. Dinner in <30 minutes from start to finish.
I used frozen fillets every time and made this more than twice. This last time I figured, let’s try and brine them directly from frozen. When I took it out of the fridge after a day of dry-brining, I thought it would be a wet mess, but to my delight, it was pretty much the same as when I would have thawed it first and dry-brined it—maybe even firmer, which was better! From now on, I will dry-brine straight from frozen!
Divided a big piece of sockeye in so I could try both broiling & pan frying methods. I really liked broiled for three reasons: 1) the skin stayed on; For ref. , my oven rack was 8 in. from broiler & I cooked 8 min for well done. Perfection! Will try w/ king salmon next time as sockeye was too lean for me.
I am obsessed with this method. We recently were gifted a good amount of Alaskan salmon, and I made it this way every time. So good, unmatched. The only way Ill cook salmon with/without any sauce. I use the broiler method and love it!! I tell everyone I know!.
This method works really well, especially for getting the skin crispy! I love that the fish is more season all over, and it’s pretty amazing how it stops sticking. Because the sides were still so pink at 105, I didn’t think it would be medium-rare, so I waited until 115 to take it out of the pan. But Kenji was right. Eating it at medium was still great.
simply spectacular. The sockeye salmon I used was about 1 lb and flaky. The salmon was more solid than any salmon I had ever had, but still moist (about 6 minutes on high broil). the crunchy skin was a fantastic complement to the firm yet moist flesh. This will be my go to recipe for a quick, delish & classy dinner plate.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it always turns out really well. I never overcook my salmon with this method. Maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to rinse the fish because that would undo the work of drying it. It might be too salty, so use less salt and think about making changes based on the filet’s size. It’s definitely a little saltier but it shouldn’t taste so salty it’s inedible.
I just made this and I am finding it hard to understand many of the comments. This is some of the best salmon Ive had. It wasn’t very salty, and I’m wondering if some people used table salt instead of Kosher salt. Private notes are only visible to you.
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